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The mineralogy of Gallium

General Properties
Symbol:Ga
Commodity pages:Gallium
Atomic Number:31
Standard atomic weight (Ar):69.723(1)
Electron configuration:[Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p1
Photos
<
Pure gallium
>
Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):1.81
Atomic Radius:136 pm
Ionic Radius:62 pm (+3)
Van der Waals Radius:187 pm
1st Ionization energy:579 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:-29 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:1,2,3
Physical Properties
Standard State:solid
Bonding Type:metallic
Melting Point:303 K
Boiling Point:2477 K
Density:5.9 g/cm3
Metal/Non-Metal:metal
Main isotopes of Gallium
Isotope% in NatureHalf LifeDecay typeDecay product
67Gasynthetic3.2612(6)dElectron capture67Zn
69Ga60.11%stable
71Ga39.89%stable
72Gasynthetic14.095(3)hβ−72Ge
Other Information
Year Discovered:1875
Discovered By:
03134360017271951115017.jpg
Lecoq de Boisbaudran
Year Predicted:1871
Year Isolated:1875
Isolated By:Lecoq de Boisbaudran
Named For:
03411380017362102602444.jpg
after Gallia (Latin for: France), homeland of the discoverer
CPK color coding:#C28F8F
External Links:WikipediaWebElementsLos Alamos National LaboratoryTheodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com
Simple Compounds
Nitridesgallium nitrideGaN+3
Sulfidesgallium sulphideGaS+2
digallium trisulphideGa2S3+3
Selenidesgallium selenideGaSe+2
digallium triselenideGa2Se3+3
Telluridesgallium tellurideGaTe+2
digallium tritellurideGa2Te3+3
Hydridesgallium trihydride[GaH3]2+3
Fluoridesgallium trifluorideGaF3+3
Chloridesdigallium hexachlorideGa2Cl6+3
digallium tetrachlorideGa2Cl4+1,+3
Bromidesgallium tribromideGaBr3+3
Iodidesdigallium hexaiodideGa2I6+3
Oxidesgallium oxideGaO+2
digiallium oxideGa2O+1
digallium trioxideGa2O3+3
Mineral Diversity of Gallium
2. Sulfides And Sulfosalts 2 valid mineral species
4. Oxides 2 valid mineral species
7. Sulfates 1 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates2 valid mineral species
Total:7 valid species containing essential Gallium
Minerals with the greatest weight % of Gallium
TsumgalliteGaO(OH)67.87 %
SöhngeiteGa(OH)357.74 %
GalliteCuGaS235.32 %
GalloplumbogummitePb(Ga,Al,Ge)3(PO4)2(OH)629.53 %
GallobeudantitePbGa3(AsO4)(SO4)(OH)627.76 %
RichardsiteZn2CuGaS417.77 %
Karlseifertite Pb(Ga2Ge)(AsO4)2(OH)617.45 %
Geochemistry of Gallium
Goldschmidt classification:Chalcophile
Ga3+ was one of the ions least depleted from the mantle in the formation of the crust.
Ga3+ enters early-forming phases in igneous rocks.
Ga3+ is commonly concentrated in residual soils and sediments.
Elemental Abundance for Gallium
Crust (CRC Handbook)1.9 x 10-5mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)1.7 x 10-5mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)1.9 x 10-5mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)1.8 x 10-5mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Wänke)1.86 x 10-5mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)1.7 x 10-5mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Shaw)1.4 x 10-5mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)3 x 10-11mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)3 x 10-11mass per volume fraction, kg/L
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)2.1 x 10-5atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)3.8 x 10-5atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)3.78 x 10-5 (6.9%)atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)
Element association of Gallium in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Gallium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements.

The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Gallium and the element listed for that row.

The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Gallium.

The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row.

Click on a heading to sort.
ElementValid Minerals listed with element and Gallium% of Ga mineralsRelative to % in all minerals
Hydrogen5 minerals with Ga and H55.56%0.10% lower
Oxygen5 minerals with Ga and O55.56%31.51% lower
Sulfur5 minerals with Ga and S55.56%151.78% higher
Copper4 minerals with Ga and Cu44.44%228.21% higher
Zinc3 minerals with Ga and Zn33.33%492.19% higher
Germanium3 minerals with Ga and Ge33.33%4,720.16% higher
Lead3 minerals with Ga and Pb33.33%207.52% higher
Iron2 minerals with Ga and Fe22.22%0.95% lower
Arsenic2 minerals with Ga and As22.22%71.01% higher
Phosphorus1 mineral with Ga and P11.11%9.57% lower
Aluminium1 mineral with Ga and Al11.11%44.15% lower
Indium1 mineral with Ga and In11.11%3,964.05% higher
Periodic Table
1H 2He
3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10Ne
11Na 12Mg 13Al 14Si 15P 16S 17Cl 18Ar
19K 20Ca 21Sc 22Ti 23V 24Cr 25Mn 26Fe 27Co 28Ni 29Cu 30Zn 31Ga 32Ge 33As 34Se 35Br 36Kr
37Rb 38Sr 39Y 40Zr 41Nb 42Mo 43Tc 44Ru 45Rh 46Pd 47Ag 48Cd 49In 50Sn 51Sb 52Te 53I 54Xe
55Cs 56Ba 57La 72Hf 73Ta 74W 75Re 76Os 77Ir 78Pt 79Au 80Hg 81Tl 82Pb 83Bi 84Po 85At 86Rn
87Fr 88Ra 89Ac 104Rd 105Db 106Sg 107Bh 108Hs 109Mt 110Ds 111Rg 112Cn 113Nh 114Fl 115Mc 116Lv 117Ts 118Og
 
58Ce 59Pr 60Nd 61Pm 62Sm 63Eu 64Gd 65Tb 66Dy 67Ho 68Er 69Tm 70Yb 71Lu
90Th 91Pa 92U 93Np 94Pu 95Am 96Cm 97Bk 98Cf 99Es 100Fm 101Md 102No 103Lr
Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with Ga Relative Frequency
Zinc << Gallium >> Germanium


Most widespread minerals containing Gallium
This list of minerals containing Gallium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Gallium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.
NameFormulaCrystal SystemMindat Localities
GalliteCuGaS2Tetragonal10
TsumgalliteGaO(OH)Orthorhombic1
Karlseifertite Pb(Ga2Ge)(AsO4)2(OH)6Trigonal1
GallobeudantitePbGa3(AsO4)(SO4)(OH)6Trigonal1
SöhngeiteGa(OH)3Tetragonal1
GalloplumbogummitePb(Ga,Al,Ge)3(PO4)2(OH)6Trigonal1
RichardsiteZn2CuGaS4Tetragonal1
Photos
06157130017360473694823.jpg
Gallite, etc.

Kipushi Mine, Kipushi, Kipushi Territory, Haut-Katanga, DR Congo
05930690017399703871173.jpg
Tsumgallite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
05955880017769334967442.jpg
Karlseifertite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
08176120017271928604453.jpg
Gallobeudantite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
06157130017360473694823.jpg
Gallite, etc.

Kipushi Mine, Kipushi, Kipushi Territory, Haut-Katanga, DR Congo
01303610017399703868398.jpg
Tsumgallite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
05409160017363075109735.jpg
Karlseifertite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
09866780017769334966982.jpg
Gallobeudantite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
06157130017360473694823.jpg
Gallite, etc.

Kipushi Mine, Kipushi, Kipushi Territory, Haut-Katanga, DR Congo
05744480017399712033845.jpg
Tsumgallite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
03644110017360479669595.jpg
Karlseifertite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
08176120017271928604453.jpg
Gallobeudantite, etc.

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia

Localities with greatest number of different Gallium mineral species
1Tsumeb Mine (Ongopolo Mine), Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia6 Ga minerals
2Kipushi Mine, Kipushi, Kipushi Territory, Haut-Katanga, DR Congo1 Ga minerals
3Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mountains, Simanjiro District, Manyara Region, Tanzania1 Ga minerals
Ditrău Complex, Harghita County, Romania1 Ga minerals
5Rainbow hydrothermal field, Rainbow Massif, Mid-Atlantic Ridge complex, Atlantic Ocean1 Ga minerals
6Pobeda-1 hydrothermal field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge complex, Atlantic Ocean1 Ga minerals
Krassen Mine, Popintsi, Panagyurishte Municipality, Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria1 Ga minerals
Pinar del Río Province, Cuba1 Ga minerals


Important ores of Gallium
Gallium is extracted almost exclusively as a by-product from bauxite mining.
NameFormulaCrystal System
Bauxite
Photos
06143500017271921378745.jpg
Bauxite

Prefing bauxite mine, Weißwasser, Unterlaussa mining district, Unterlaussa, Weyer, Steyr-Land District, Upper Austria, Austria
03124610017271921359846.jpg
Bauxite

Ankazobe's Tampoketsa, Ankazobe Commune, Ankazobe District, Analamanga, Madagascar
06098160017363421997068.jpg
Bauxite, etc.

Meadowbank pit, Campbell Town, Northern Midlands municipality, Tasmania, Australia
01794200017271921404227.jpg
Bauxite

Bolívar, Venezuela
06143500017271921378745.jpg
Bauxite

Prefing bauxite mine, Weißwasser, Unterlaussa mining district, Unterlaussa, Weyer, Steyr-Land District, Upper Austria, Austria
03124610017271921359846.jpg
Bauxite

Ankazobe's Tampoketsa, Ankazobe Commune, Ankazobe District, Analamanga, Madagascar
06098160017363421997068.jpg
Bauxite, etc.

Meadowbank pit, Campbell Town, Northern Midlands municipality, Tasmania, Australia
01794200017271921404227.jpg
Bauxite

Bolívar, Venezuela
07553410017271921467651.jpg
Bauxite

Prefing bauxite mine, Weißwasser, Unterlaussa mining district, Unterlaussa, Weyer, Steyr-Land District, Upper Austria, Austria
03124610017271921359846.jpg
Bauxite

Ankazobe's Tampoketsa, Ankazobe Commune, Ankazobe District, Analamanga, Madagascar
07887590017364408939302.jpg
Bauxite, etc.

Meadowbank pit, Campbell Town, Northern Midlands municipality, Tasmania, Australia
01794200017271921404227.jpg
Bauxite

Bolívar, Venezuela
 
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To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
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